Microsoft Excel (Advanced) test
Summary of the Microsoft Excel (Advanced) test
Our Advanced Excel test evaluates candidates’ mastery of a wide range of Excel features and formulas. It helps you identify applicants who are skilled in using advanced Microsoft Excel functionality, organizing data, creating reports, and drawing actionable insights.
Covered skills
Organizing data
Writing advanced formulas
Creating reports and visualizations
Using advanced features
Use our Advanced Microsoft Excel test to hire
Finance professionals, marketers, sales managers, auditors, HR managers, accountants and financial analysts, administrative assistants, data analysts and scientists, and any other job role that requires an advanced command of Microsoft Excel.
About the Advanced Excel assessment
Since its release in 1985, Microsoft Excel has become indispensable in business, helping professionals organize, interpret, and communicate data to enable data-driven decisions.
Advanced Excel skills are essential for any role with significant data processing, from completing calculations to analyzing data. This means it’s crucial in the finance, healthcare, logistics, marketing, and technology industries.
Our Advanced Excel skills test lets you identify candidates whose Excel abilities surpass basic proficiency. By adding it to your screening process, you hire people who can:
Perform conditional formatting
Use Excel functions, advanced formulas, and cell references to solve complex problems
Use Power Query to interpret data and create charts and graphs to visualize insights
Summarize, analyze, and manage large data sets
Use automation and improve functionality
Integrate Excel spreadsheets with other tools and applications
View our preview multiple-choice questions to see this test in action.
Candidates who do well on our Advanced Microsoft Excel assessment test can easily manipulate workbooks, generate attractive reports and dashboards, and share actionable, data-driven insights.
The test is made by a subject-matter expert
Miranda C.
IT support manager Miranda possesses a demonstrated history of supporting cutting-edge software in high-growth, fast-paced environments. Her mastery of all versions of Windows and Office suite software works hand-in-hand with her excellence in network troubleshooting, training, software implementation, and technical writing.
Miranda’s approach to fixing every software issue with urgency and empathy consistently leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Crafted with expert knowledge
TestGorilla’s tests are created by subject matter experts. We assess potential subject-matter experts based on their knowledge, ability, and reputation. Before being published, each test is peer-reviewed by another expert, then calibrated using hundreds of test takers with relevant experience in the subject.
Our feedback mechanisms and unique algorithms allow our subject-matter experts to constantly improve their tests.
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View a sample report
The Microsoft Excel (Advanced) test will be included in a PDF report along with the other tests from your assessment. You can easily download and share this report with colleagues and candidates.
Why are advanced Excel skills important to employers?
Advanced Excel skills are important to employers because they enable employees to handle data tasks efficiently and accurately.
Employees with these skills can use complex Excel formulas and data visualization tools to identify trends, predict outcomes, and provide actionable insights. They can also optimize workflows, improve data accuracy, and contribute to better strategic planning.
The ability to create detailed and accurate reports, charts, and graphs helps present data visually appealingly, communicate insights to stakeholders, and support decision-making.
MS Excel proficiency also helps automate repetitive tasks, which reduces the time spent on manual data entry and processing and increases productivity. This streamlines processes and reduces errors, which translates to cost savings for the company.
All of these benefits lead to improved business performance and profitability.
For example, SD Worx, a global HR and payroll service provider, first used TestGorilla to hire for IT roles. However, the company quickly started using our employment tests for other roles, hiring 1,300 to 1,500 people annually. This has helped the organization improve the quality of hires, reduce time-to-hire, and boost the candidate experience.
6 advanced Excel skills to look for
Excel has countless advanced features that require expertise to accomplish specific goals.
You should look for these skills when hiring an Excel expert:
VLOOKUP: This function enables users to look up values in a table and return data from a specific column in the same row.
INDEX MATCH: As a combination of two functions, INDEX returns the value of a cell to a particular location, and MATCH returns the position of a cell. You can use this function on columns, rows, or both simultaneously, unlike VLOOKUP.
Pivot tables: A pivot table calculates, summarizes, and analyzes data. It can summarize information and help users see comparisons, patterns, and trends.
Reporting: Good reporting skills enable a person managing data to collect and display information in a single sheet.
Macros and Visual Basics for Applications language (VBA): A macro is a small automated task programmed using the VBA to perform one or multiple actions when turned on.
Data simulation: Although software programs are dedicated to data simulation, those with more advanced skills can use Excel tools for this purpose.
What job roles can you hire with our Advanced Excel test?
Advanced Excel skills help employees do well in numerous roles because they support them in efficiently managing and analyzing data, creating insightful reports, and streamlining workflows.
Here are the most important roles where using an Advanced Excel test is a must to find the right person for the job:
Accountants and financial analysts: Paramount to the efficacy and accuracy of accounting tasks such as ledger management, financial reporting, and tax calculations
Finance professionals: Essential for financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and creating detailed financial models and reports
Auditors: Vital for data examination, financial reporting, compliance checks, and ensuring data accuracy
Marketers: Important for data analysis, campaign tracking, optimizing strategies, and performance reporting
HR managers: Necessary for management, reporting, and analysis of HR data
Sales managers: Crucial for tracking sales metrics, analyzing the performance of sales representatives, and managing sales data
Data analysts and scientists: Critical for using large datasets to perform data manipulation, statistical analysis, and visualization
Administrative assistants: Required for supporting office operations with efficient data entry, scheduling, and reporting
Tip: Use our recruitment ROI calculator to calculate the financial benefits of switching to skills-based hiring!
Create a multi-measure assessment: 4 tests to pair with the Microsoft Excel (Advanced) test
Our Advanced Microsoft Excel test is a powerful tool for screening technical candidates; however, you shouldn’t employ it on its own. We suggest you take a multi-measure approach and create a skills assessment comprising five tests. This enables you to measure multiple competencies at once – including hard and soft skills, personality, and culture – and gain a holistic view of your applicants.
Here are four other tests we suggest using together with our Advanced Excel test:
Numerical Reasoning test: Measure a candidate’s ability to work with numerical data, make calculations, and interpret graphs and tables
Financial Modeling in Excel test: Assess how well an applicant can build and interpret financial models, handle complex financial data, and make informed business decisions
Data Analytics in Excel test: Evaluate a jobseeker’s proficiency in using Excel for data manipulation, analysis, and visualization
Big 5 (OCEAN) Personality test: Measure openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism to provide insights into how a person behaves in a work environment
Note: We haven’t included any role-specific skills tests here because they depend on the position you’re hiring for. However, we highly recommend you add at least one in your five-test assessment to ensure your candidates possess the right skills for the job.
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